When Larry Stevens retired as a district conservationist (DC) for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) at the end of 2024, it ended the tenure of only the third Keokuk County DC in 81 years.

Since 1994, Stevens has been the voice of conservation for the NRCS in Sigourney. Driving through the rural southern Iowa county this fall, his legacy — and those who served before him — can be seen as cattle graze green pastures while farm ponds, terraces and native grasses line the rolling landscape.

Keokuk County’s conservation legacy

Keokuk County has a conservation legacy that includes state conservation board members, statewide conservation award winners, and soil and water conservation district (SWCD) commissioners who have been reelected for decades.

“It’s good to have commissioners who are using the practices that you’re trying to get others to implement,” says Don Borts, DC for the NRCS in Sigourney from 1970 to 1994.

Before Borts, George Thorburn was the county’s first DC, with a 26-year run from 1943 to 1970. Thorburn passed away in 1991.

The Keokuk County conservation legacy includes current NRCS chief Terry Cosby, who was a student trainee under Borts’ tutelage in the early 1980s. Cosby went on to work for Borts as a soil conservationist in Sigourney before stints with the NRCS in Oskaloosa, Burlington and finally as the area resource conservationist in Council Bluffs. Eventually, Cosby became the state conservationist for the NRCS in Ohio for 16 years before being named chief of the USDA agency in 2021.

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“Coming to Keokuk County, Iowa, from Mississippi was a culture shock,” Cosby says. “I relied on kind and thoughtful mentors like Don to help me get settled and to learn how to work with different producers on their conservation goals. As I grew in my career, I used that example when I became a mentor to other young student trainees who were far from home. My time in Keokuk County with Don Borts shaped me as a conservationist and a leader, and I credit Don for helping me in my journey to become the 17th chief of NRCS.”

TERRIFIC TERRACES: A terrace still functions to reduce soil erosion even after the land was converted from cropland to pasture in Keokuk County, Iowa.

Throughout Borts’ and Stevens’ years in Keokuk County, Sharon Fritchen was a constant in the Sigourney office. Fritchen has helped manage the office since 1984, currently serving as conservation assistant for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS). Fritchen is one of only two to ever serve in this capacity in Keokuk County.

“Sharon has been a great asset for many years,” Stevens says. “Her knowledge of Keokuk County producers and their farming operations are of great value in providing excellent customer service. She is also a farmer, so she understands what is going on in their lives, in good times and bad. Working with Sharon over the past 30 years has been a pleasure. We are truly lucky to have such a dedicated servant to our district.”

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Stevens says he stayed in Keokuk County because his wife’s family is in the area, and he has enjoyed working with the local farmers.

“The conservation ethic of our farmers makes it easy for our office in a lot of ways,” he says. “We don’t have a lot of problems selling [the USDA or state cost-share] financial assistance programs. We have plenty of applications for [the Conservation Stewardship Program] and a waiting list for state cost-share to build terraces.”

Borts says he enjoyed working directly with farmers.

“I wasn’t interested in moving up the ladder and primarily managing people,” he says. “I’ve been interested in conservation since my dad implemented a conservation plan on his farm. I started working as a soil conservationist as soon as I got out of the military.”

Since retiring in 1994, Borts has stayed in the area to farm his own ground. “It’s been good to have Don around all these years, as a reference to why we implemented some of the structures across the county,” Stevens says.

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No-till and soil health

Farmer Don Millikin has been a Keokuk SWCD commissioner since 1976. He says Borts was influential in helping many Keokuk County farmers transition to no-till farming in the early 1980s. “When Don was DC, we got the no-till planter going in 1981,” Millikin says.

He says the emphasis Stevens has placed on soil health is similar.

“The biggest change to my cropland since going to no-till has been using a cereal rye cover crop,” Millikin says. “Our [crop] yields are some of the best in the area, especially on the hilly ground. If you include all the trips across the field and the cost of machinery, I think we’re coming out way ahead.”

Stevens says the soil health and cover crop movement in recent years is similar to the no-till movement.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Millikin's Conservation Reserve Program stands in Keokuk County, Iowa.

“We asked farmers to start slowly with cover crops like we did with no-till in the ’80s,” Stevens says. “We are doing a lot of cost-share on 40 acres just to get farmers to try it.”

Millikin said having Borts and Stevens the past 54 years has been good for the county.

“Don and Larry have been great to work with,” Millikin says. “Hopefully, after Larry retires, we can get someone for another 25 years.”

Stevens reiterated that Keokuk County is an attractive county for a district conservationist.

“There is a lot of conservation on the ground and good conservation farmers in the area,” he says. “I think there will be a lot of people interested in coming here.”